Shloka 20
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
भोग्ये भोज्ये प्रवचने सर्वलोकनिदर्शने । भर्त्रां चैव समायोगे सीमन्तोन्नयने तथा
bhogye bhojye pravacane sarvalokanidarśane | bhartrāṃ caiva samāyoge sīmantonnayane tathā ||
Bhishma said: “In matters of what is to be enjoyed and used, what is to be eaten, in instruction and sacred study, in learning the conduct and standards of the whole world, and likewise in the husband’s union (for conception) and in rites such as the sīmantonnayana, the father is the rightful authority.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the father’s primary guardianship and decision-making role in a child’s upbringing and key life-rites—covering material provisions, education (including Vedic learning), social training, and the performance of prenatal/household saṃskāras—framing this as part of ordered dharma within the family.
In the Śānti Parva’s dharma instruction, Bhishma is laying out norms of household and social duty. Here he enumerates domains—enjoyments, food, teaching, worldly conduct, conjugal rites, and prenatal ceremonies—where paternal authority is recognized as decisive.